Registering your partner, children and other household members

Terms used

• hoja padronal — The hoja padronal is the form listing everyone living at one address, used to register them on the town's residents' register.
• Libro de Familia — The Libro de Familia is the Spanish family book recording parents and children, accepted as proof of relationship.
• alta — An alta is the registration of a new person, or a change adding them, at an address.

Key rules

• Adult signatures: Every adult being registered must sign, but one person can submit the form for others with copies of their IDs or written authorisation.
• Children: Parents or legal guardians register anyone under 18.
• Proof: Ask for a certificado de empadronamiento for each person once registered.

One sheet covers everyone at the address

Everyone who lives at your address is registered on the same hoja padronal. It lists each person's name, ID, date and place of birth and education level, plus the address. Your town hall provides the form, and layouts differ from town to town.

When someone new moves in later, you file a new sheet or a change of household (alta) for that person.

Adults sign for themselves

Every adult being registered signs the form. They do not all have to go to the town hall. One person can submit the form for the others if they bring:

• the form already signed by each adult, plus a copy of each adult's ID, or
• a written authorisation from each adult.

If your town hall offers online registration, each adult needs their own digital certificate or Cl@ve. An adult who cannot sign for themselves is represented by their legal guardian.

Children are registered by their parents or guardians

Bring the child's passport, NIE or birth certificate. If you have no Spanish family book, the birth certificate proves that you are the parent. Register a baby born in Spain on the padrón at the family's address as soon as the birth is registered at the civil registry, bringing the birth certificate or the family book. The baby needs it for the health card and for the TIE or NIE application.

If the child lives with one parent only, that parent usually signs. The town hall may ask you to declare that the other parent agrees. Many town halls only ask for a custody judgment or the other parent's written authorisation when there is a dispute, but have the paperwork ready if your situation is not simple.

If the child lives with someone who is not their parent, you need a legal guardianship document or an authorisation from the parents.

If you register a family member

Whatever the relationship, a family member goes on the same sheet as an ordinary adult, signs for themselves and shows their own ID (the accepted IDs are in how to register). The padrón asks for no marriage or partnership certificate and no proof of the relationship, its length or any dependence, unless the town hall asks for one.

Documents from abroad

The padrón does not routinely ask for apostilled or translated documents. If a town hall asks for a foreign birth or marriage certificate:

• Issued in another EU country: no apostille, and a multilingual standard form replaces the translation.
• Issued in a non-EU country that is a Hague Convention member: an apostille and a sworn translation into Spanish.
• Issued in a non-EU country outside the Hague Convention: full legalisation through the Spanish consulate and a sworn translation.

Documents you need

• Household registration form (hoja padronal), signed by each adult being registered.
• ID for each adult, with a copy if someone else submits the form for you.
• Family book (libro de familia) or other proof of relationship, plus the parents' IDs, for each child.
• Written authorisation from each adult, if another person submits the form for them.